Ryan Schimpf smacked a double and had four total hits, but the Fisher Cats (23-25) dropped the final game of their road trip to the Portland Sea Dogs (27-18) on Thursday afternoon, 8-4. Schimpf's four-hit day wrapped up a series in which the Fisher Cats won the opener, but dropped the final three to finish their road trip with a 4-3 record.

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Schimpf factored into the first Fisher Cats run in the top of the first against rehabbing Red Sox pitcher Franklin Morales (W; 1-0). With one on and one out, Schimpf reached on a check-swing single, taking an extra base on an error on the play. A few pitchers later, Clint Robinson brought home Amadeo Zazueta to give New Hampshire an early 1-0 lead.

That lead wasn't nearly enough as the Fisher Cats returned the defensive mistakes to the Sea Dogs in the bottom of the inning. The lead-off man reached in the frame on a miscue by Schimpf, eventually scoring on a double by Red Sox catcher and rehabbing Sea Dog David Ross. A few batters later, a misplayed line drive resulted in another Fisher Cats error and two more runs for a 3-1 Sea Dogs lead.

From there, Portland tacked on three more in the second and another in the third against spot starter Matt Wright (L; 1-1). The southpaw allowed 7 runs (4 earned) in three innings in his first start of the season. The Dogs added one more in the eighth against Randy Boone to push their lead to its largest margin at 8-1.

The Fisher Cats pulled a few runs closer when Kevin Ahrens and Adam Loewen each plated a run in the sixth inning. The team then failed to take advantage of its best opportunity in the eighth. With the bases loaded and no outs, Loewen brought a run home, but did so by grounding into a double play to effectively end the rally.

After his first inning single, Schimpf added a double in the fifth and then consecutive singles in the seventh and the ninth. He was stranded or wiped out in double plays after his final three hits.

New Hampshire returns home after the winning road trip to play New Britain on Friday night at 7:05 p.m. An Atlas Fireworks Show will follow the game and fans can buy one premium or box seat ticket and get one free, courtesy of ENH Power. For tickets and information, visit www.nhfishercats.com.

Radio coverage begins at 6:45 p.m. with Tom Gauthier and Bob Lipman on the WGIR Fisher Cats Radio Network and www.nhfishercats.com.